III + 

That morning early, in the assembly room, Mitya Krinin asked Shura: “Well, have you brought it?” + 

Shura recalled that he had promised to bring Krinin a book of popular songs. He replied: “Just a moment. I’ve left it in my overcoat.” + 

He ran into the dressing-room. The bells suddenly rang out in all parts of the building, calling the students to prayer, without which the lessons could hardly be expected to begin. + 

Shura made haste. He put his hand in the overcoat pocket, found nothing; then, on discovering that it was someone else’s overcoat, he exclaimed in vexation: + 

“There now, that’s something new⁠—my hand in another boy’s overcoat!” + 

And he began to search in his own. + 

There was an outburst of derisive laughter. He looked around, startled, to find there the mischievous Dutikov, who called out in his unpleasant voice: “So, my boy, you’re going through other people’s pockets!” + 

Shura growled back angrily: “It’s not your affair. Anyway, I’m not going through yours.” + 

He found his book and ran back to the assembly room, where the students were already ranging themselves for the service, forming into long rows, according to height. The smaller students stood in front, near to the icons, the taller behind; and in each row, in gradation, the lads on the right were taller than those on the left. The school faculty considered it necessary for them to pray in rows, and according to height; otherwise the prayer might come to nothing. Apart from them, there was a group of boys more proficient in chanting, and the leader of these, at the beginning of each chant, changed his voice several times⁠—this was called “setting the tone.” The singing was loud, rapid, expressionless; they might have all been beating drums. The head student was reading in the prayer book the prayers which it was customary to read and not to sing⁠—and his reading was just as loud, just as expressionless. In a word, it was the same as ever. + 

But after prayers something happened. + 